Christopher Alexander Millar (born 30 March 1983) is a Scottish professional football player and coach who plays for Port Glasgow Juniors.
Millar was in the Celtic youth system, then started his professional career with Greenock Morton. He then played for St Johnstone for ten seasons and went on to play regularly for the Saints in the top flight and helping them win the Scottish Cup in 2014. Millar returned to Morton in 2018.
Club career Greenock Morton Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Millar began his football career at Celtic before he was released by the club in February 2003. Initially, he started out playing in the right–back position before switching to playing in the right–midfield position. Shortly after, Millar signed for then Scottish Football League Third Division side Greenock Morton, starting out his professional football career at the Ton. He made his Greenock Morton debut away at a goalless draw against Montrose on 25 February 2003. He was a member of the Ton’s 2002–03 Scottish Third Division championship-winning team that season. At the end of the 2002–03 season, Millar made thirteen appearances in all competitions.
In the 2003–04 season, Millar became a first team regular in his first full season at Greenock Morton and contributed to the club’s good start to the season that saw them top of the table. He then scored his first goal for Greenock Morton, in a 6–4 win against Arbroath on 6 December 2003. Millar added two more goals for the Ton later in the season, scoring against Stenhousemuir and Dumbarton. However, the club’s form soon dip in the second half of the season and ended up finishing the season in fourth place. At the end of the 2003–04 season, he made forty–two appearances and scoring four times in all competitions. Shortly after, Millwar signed a contract extension with Greenock Morton.
In the 2004–05 season, Millar scored an equalising goal, in a 1–1 draw against Stirling Albion on 11 September 2004. Two weeks later on 25 September 2004, he scored his second goal of the season, in a 6–1 win against Alloa Athletic, followed up by scoring against Forfar Athletic. After the match, Millar stated that his goals he scored was no fluke. Millar later scored more goals by the end of the year, coming against East Stirlingshire and Cove Rangers. In the second half of the season, he scored against Arbroath on two separate occasions and Alloa Athletic, again on two separate occasions. On the last game of the season against Stranraer, Millar started the match but he was unable to help Greenock Morton gain promotion to the First Division by a single point, finishing behind Stranraer in third place. At the end of the 2004–05 season, Millar made forty appearances and scoring thirteen times in all competitions.
At the start of the 2005–06 season, Millar scored his first goal of the season, in a 5–2 win against Alloa Athletic on 17 September 2005. He then scored his second goal of the season, in a 2–0 win against Raith Rovers on 26 December 2005. Millar scored three goals between 25 February 2006 and 11 March 2006 against Forfar Athletic and twice against Gretna. He helped Greenock Morton finish second place to qualify for the Scottish First Division play–offs. Millar played in both legs of the Scottish First Division play–offs against Peterhead, as the Ton loss 1–0 on aggregate. At the end of the 2005–06 season, he made forty–four appearances and scoring five times in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2006–07 season, teammate Derek Lilley praised Millar for maintaining his fitness, which contributed to him regaining his first team place for Greenock Morton. He went on a scoring spree, scoring five times for the Ton. Millar later scored two more goals by the end of the year, coming against Stirling Albion and Forfar Athletic (although he scored an own goal). On 2 January 2007, Millar scored his eighth goal of the season, in a 2–1 win against Peterhead. On 7 April 2007, he scored his ninth goal of the season, in a 9–1 win against Forfar Athletic. Having set his target to help Greenock Morton get promoted to the Scottish First Division, Millar’s target was fulfilled when the Ton’s promotion to the Scottish First Division was achieved on 14 April 2007. He said helping the club getting promoted to the Scottish Football Division was a best experience, alongside, winning the Player of the Year award. At the end of the 2006–07 season, Millar made forty–three appearances and scoring nine times in all competitions.
The start of the 2007–08 season saw Millar start in the first six matches for Greenock Morton. However, he suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out for a month. On 20 October 2007, Millar made his return from injury, coming on as a 65th-minute substitute, in a 1–0 win against Clyde. Three weeks later on 10 November 2007, he scored his first goal of the season, in a 3–1 win against Queen of the South. Millar then scored his second goal of the season, in a 2–2 draw against Livingston on 1 December 2007. However, following the announcement of Millar’s move to St Johnstone, he was dropped from the squad for four matches. But Millar returned to the starting line–up, in a 2–2 draw against Gretna in the fourth round of the Scottish FA Cup on 12 January 2008 to bring the match to a replay. In the fourth round replay of the Scottish FA Cup, he scored the third goal of the game, in a 3–0 win to help Greenock Morton advance to the next round. The Perth attempted to sign Millar on deadline day but it was unsuccessful. On 9 February 2008, Millar scored his fourth goal of the season, in a 2–1 loss against Clyde. In a follow–up match against Dundee, he received a red card for a second bookable offence in the 63rd minute, in a 2–0 loss. After serving a one match suspension, Millar returned to the starting line–up, in a 2–1 win against Stirling Albion on 1 March 2008. However, in a match against Partick Thistle on 15 March 2008, he suffered a groin injury and was substituted in the 57th minute. After missing one match, Millar returned to the starting line–up, in a 0–0 draw against Queen of the South on 29 March 2008. On the last game of the season against Dunfermline Athletic, he helped the club win 3–0 to avoid the relegation playoff by a single goal. At the end of the 2007–08 season, Millar made thirty–two appearances and scoring four times in all competitions. By the time he left Greenock Morton, Millar said he enjoyed every minute at the Tor.
St Johnstone On 21 December 2007, it was announced that Millar had signed a pre-contract agreement with St Johnstone. Despite Greenock Morton’s attempts to keep him, he officially signed with the club on 1 May 2008. Upon joining the Saints, manager Derek McInnes said about Miller, who signed a two–year contract with the club: "he is a fit, driven, energetic individual whose attitude is exactly what I want around here. Although we had him on a pre-contract, Morton made Millar a fantastic offer to stay which is their right and he thinks that St Johnstone is the right club for him to develop further at."
In the opening game of the 2008–09 season, he made his debut for the Saints, starting the whole game, in a 2–0 win against Livingston. Since joining St Johnstone, he quickly became a first team regular for the club, playing in the midfield position. On 21 February 2009, Millar scored his first goal for St Johnstone, in a 3–3 draw against Queen of the South. After missing one match through suspension, he returned on 19 April 2009, coming on as a 61st-minute substitute, and scoring the second goal of the game, in a 3–2 loss against Queen of the South. Millar was part of the club’s promotion squad when the Saints secured promotion to the Scottish Premier League after beating his former club Greenock Morton 3–2 to end their seven-year stint in the First Division on 2 May 2009. At the end of the 2008–09 season, he made thirty–eight appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.
However, Millar missed the opening game of the 2009–10 season against Motherwell, due to a calf injury. But he returned to the starting line–up in a follow–up match against Celtic and set up St Johnstone’s second goal of the game, in a 5–2 loss. Millar continued to regain his first team place at the club, playing in the midfield position. He then scored his first goal of the season, in a 3–1 win against Hibernian in the last 16 of the Scottish League Cup. A week later on 3 October 2009, Millar set up the second goal of the game, in a 2–0 against Hamilton Academical. On 31 October 2009, he scored his second goal of the season, in a 3–1 win against Falkirk. In a match against St Mirren on 19 December 2009, Millar scored the only goal of the game, in a 1–0 win. Two days later, on 21 December 2009, he signed a contract with the Saints, keeping him until 2012. In a follow–up match against Motherwell, Millar played a role to the match when he set up two goals, in a 3–1 win. For his performance, he was named St Johnstone’s Player of the Month for January. On 30 March 2010, Millar scored his fourth goal of the season and set up the club’s third goal of the match, in a 4–1 win against Rangers. At the end of the 2009–10 season, he made forty–one appearances and scoring four times in all competitions.
The start of the 2010–11 season saw Millar start four league matches, playing in the midfield position, as St Johnstone made a poor start, losing three times. After missing one match, he scored on his return, in a 3–0 win against Queen of the South in the third round of the Scottish League Cup. However, his return was short–lived when Millar suffered an injury that saw him out for three matches. But he made his return to the starting line–up, in a 0–0 draw against Hibernian on 27 November 2010. In the fourth round of the Scottish Cup against Hearts on 11 January 2011, Millar set up the only goal of the game for Peter MacDonald, in a 1–0 win to help the Saints advance to the next round. However, he suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out for weeks. But on 12 March 2011, Millar returned to the starting line–up against Brechin City in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup and scored on his return, in a 2–2 draw to earn a replay. In a replay match, he set up a goal for Collin Samuel to score the only goal of the game, in a 1–0 to help the club advance to the next round. Despite missing another match, due to suffering a groin injury for the second time this season, Millar made thirty–seven appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.